


Star Struck

by IvyCpher



Category: Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Autistic Molly Blyndeff, Books, Friendship, Gen, Libraries, Stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:02:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23437387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvyCpher/pseuds/IvyCpher
Summary: Sylvie invites Molly to the library with him so he can get some books on his new interest which he is surprised that Molly knows all about.
Relationships: Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Molly Blyndeff
Comments: 16
Kudos: 85





	Star Struck

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Doctor Sylvester Ashling takes a fucking nap](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23385496) by [grymmdark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/grymmdark/pseuds/grymmdark). 



Sylvie liked having a friend to do things with. It was a major change to how he used to do things alone all the time. Sometimes he still liked to do things alone, but mostly he liked doing things together with Molly, his first real friend.

And Molly liked doing things with him too, or at least Sylvie thought so. It felt like nearly every weekend she was asking to do something or to hang out with him. And of course, he obliged to her whenever he could. Sometimes though, Molly invited Giovanni to go along with them too. And even though Sylvie wasn't fond of Giovanni, the more he found himself around him, the more he began to actually like him. He was even starting to consider him his friend too.

But just two weeks ago, Molly had expressed that she had wanted to go to the Sweet Jazz City zoo to see the new grizzly bear cubs that had been born a few months prior. As soon as she said that, Sylvie wasted no time in checking her calendar for an available day for them to both go together later that week. It had been fun. They rode the bus there and ate weird animal shaped popsicles. And they both even got to feed the giraffes.

But since Molly got to choose what they did on their last outing, Sylvie only thought it fair that he got to choose what they did on their next one. He had been wanting to go to the library forever, and despite living only three blocks from it, he just never found the time to go. So one Friday after he was sure Molly would be home from school, he called her house phone (her deadbeat dad always had her cell) and asked her if she wanted to go to the library with him the next day. She quickly agreed and they made plans.

On Saturday, Sylvie had arrived earlier at the library than he was supposed to. While he waited for Molly, he sat on stone steps outside and tapped on his phone. He had saved the titles and authors of a few books he wanted to get if they were available. They were mostly about space and the stars. He was going through a sort of phase that made him suddenly highly interested in them.

"Sylvie!" Shouted a voice in front of him, and Sylvester looked up to see Molly hopping off of a blue town bus. She ran up to him, smiling with her hands gripping her green backpack straps. "Hi!"

Clicking off his phone, Sylvie stood up. "Hey, Molly." He slipped his phone into his pocket and pushed up his glasses. "Your bus ride okay?"

"Oh yeah," Nodded Molly. "I ride the bus by myself all the time. I always bring my headphones so the noises don't bother me."

Hearing that Molly was used to riding the bus by herself did not make Sylvie feel good at all, but he didn't say anything. He knew that Molly didn't always like it when he or Giovanni made a big deal about certain things that she did that average twelve year olds didn't do. Like riding a bus that wasn't the school bus by herself. "Ah- well, you ready to go inside?" Sylvie half turned around on the step he was standing on.

"Yeah!" Molly let go of her backpack straps and grabbed Sylvie's hand. "I love this library." She said, as they started to walk up the stairs.

Looking over at her, Sylvie smiled softly. "Yeah?" He looked up at the front doors of the library. "I like it too, but I think that the library at my old college had a bigger selection of books."

"Mhm, my mom used to take me here every other Friday after school." Molly swung her and Sylvie's hands while using her other hand to rub the fabric of her backpack strap. "It's not very fun to go alone though."

As he let go of Molly's hand to open the library door for her, Sylvie's smile fell. "Well… Tell me whenever you want to come here and I'll do my best to work it in to my schedule." He shrugged softly. It always broke Sylvie's heart and made him feel so awkward when Molly talked about her mom. He always didn't know what to do when she talked about her, but he never wanted her to feel bad for missing her mother.

Molly's eyes lit up and she waved her hands happily at her sides. "Really, Sylvie?" She asked, stopping in the middle of the threshold.

"Yeah. Why not?" Shrugged Sylvie. "It'll be nice having someone to get books with. You can make sure I return mine on time, I'm super bad at that."

Molly stepped backwards and placed a kiss on Sylvie's cheek, "Thank you… You're a great friend." She said, then stepped into the library.

Smiling, Sylvie followed her inside and let the door shut behind them. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "You want to get your books first?" He asked. "It won't take me long to get mine. I always write down what I want to get before I go to any library."

Molly was still absentmindedly waving her hands by her sides when Sylvie asked her this, "Oh, sure! I don't really know what books I want though…" Her pace slowed as she turned towards the childrens' section of the library. It had peach coloured walls, many short bookshelves, and comfortable little seats and chairs scattered about.

Sylvie didn't like going to the childrens' section of any library for the simple fact of that he wasn't a child and already had too many librarians trying to direct them there. If there was a book that he wanted to read with a lower reading level attached to it or it was considered a children's book, he discreetly ordered it online and read it at home where no one could see him. But now he didn't feel so awkward or embarrassed in the children's section, he felt happy to take Molly there and keep her company while she selected her own books. "Take all the time you want. There are far worse places than a library where I could send my whole day."

"Okay!" And then Molly moved so quickly down the rows of short stacks that it took Sylvester a few seconds to realize that she had moved. He quickly hurried after her.

By the time Sylvie had finally caught up with Molly, she had already plucked a book from the shelves and was looking quite pleased with herself. She held the book close to her chest and smiled brightly at Sylvie.

"It's almost like you knew exactly were the book was-" Joked Sylvie. "Which one is it?"

Instead of answering, Molly flipped the book's cover around so that Sylvie could see it. It was a little red book with a stuffed bear in green overalls on the front called _Corduroy._ "I get the book every time I go to the library. It's my favourite even though it's a baby book."

"Baby book or not," Shrugged Sylvie. "You like it and that's all that matters. Do you want to look for any more books?"

"Mmm, sure!"

From there they both stayed for about a half hour longer in the children's department until Molly picked out two more books. One was _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,_ which Giovanni had recommended to her, and the other was some graphic novel with a bunch of sparkles and fairies on the cover. Then after she was content with the books she had chosen, they both moved on towards the adult section on the upper level.

"Usually they never let me in here…" Whispered Molly as they walked past tall rows of books to the librarian's desk in the back. "They say I have to keep in the kids' section." She was quieter now than she had been in the childrens' section.

"They used to say that to me too," Sylvie sighed. "I don't see why you have to be a certain age to be in this section." He grumbled a bit bitterly.

Together they walked up to the librarian's desk and Sylvie asked them for the few books he had marked down in his phone. The librarian smiled at him and left for about then minutes before returning with four books. "Here you are," They said. "Sorry, but the other two are out. If you leave your library card number with me, I can put you on for a text alert for when they'll be back in."

"Nah it's fine," Sylvie stumbled slightly as he loaded the four heavy books into his arms. "These will do. Thanks." And then he turned around with Molly following beside him.

As they walked back to the library's main desk in the center of the library, Molly looked over Sylvie's shoulder and spied at the cover at the topmost book in his arms. "' _Stars, nebulas, and galaxies: the wonders of the interstellar world.'"_ She muttered, hitching up her own books under her arm. "I didn't know you liked space, Sylvie."

"Oh well," Shrugging the best he could with his arms full of books, Sylvie looked over at Molly. "I get new interests really easily… The other day I was looking at those glow in the dark stars you got me and they had me thinking that I never really paid any attention to the real stars right above me. I guess I've been too busy with my head in books." He smiled embarrassedly as they reached the empty main desk. "Why, do you like stars?"

"Not just stars!" Molly grinned as she put her books on the front desk. "I really like some planets too and other things… I know a lot about the constellations!" She grabbed the two top books in Sylvie's arms and put them on the desk for him. "They're my favourite… I like their stories and their names."

Lifting his last two books on to the counter, Sylvie rang the little bell that signaled that help was needed. "Really?" He asked. "Maybe you could tell me about what you know then."

And as soon as Sylvester said those words, Molly opened up a floodgate of space facts for him. She didn't stop as their books were checked out by a librarian, when they walked out of the library, or even when they started towards Sylvie's house. Molly gave him interesting information that Sylvie had never heard before, but he sadly didn't get to hear everything she had to say because of how he had to keep her from walking into traffic and other people.

By the time Sylvie had walked Molly to his apartment and they were inside, he wasn't even sure if she noticed that they had got there. He dropped his books on the coffee table in the living room while she continued on her rampage of information. "Aquarius is the tenth biggest constellation in the sky, and even though it's my birth sign it's not my favourite constellation."

"What's your favourite?" Asked Sylvie. "Isn't there a bear one?" He sat down on the couch and patted the cushion beside him.

Molly looked up at him and smiled, "That's Ursa Major, silly." She laughed and moved across the room to sit next to him. "I do really like bears, but it's not my favourite." She said, taking off her backpack and dropping it on the floor. "Lyra is my favourite one."

Sylvie was quiet for a second, waiting for Molly to explain but she didn't. "Uh- I don't think I know that one. What is it?"

"It's really tiny, I like the tiny constellations a lot. They don't really get noticed but I still think they're cool! It's supposed to be a lyre, y'know one of those old stringey instruments?" Molly asked, titling her head to the side. "It has a whole myth that goes with it about Orpious and Ur-riddance."

"I think you might mean _'Orpheus and Eurydice'_ ," Sylvie pointed out while pushing up his glasses. "But it's really cool that you know so much about stars and space, Molly." He said genuinely. "I wish I knew that much about it, but researching it first isn't that bad."

"You're super smart, Sylvie!" Molly moved around so that she was facing him. "You know a lot about a bunch of things like epithets and yo-yo tricks and talking to people!" She nodded surely, "I'm sure you can learn about the stars and space too."

Not being able to help his smile, Sylvie shrugged. Usually he couldn't help being boastful, but when recieving an actual, genuine compliment he didn't know what to do. "Thanks… Maybe you can help teach me about them. You seem to know as much as at least one of these books." He gestured to his pile of books on the coffee table.

Gasping, Molly started to bounce up and down on the couch. "Really? I'd get to be your teacher?"

With a laugh, Sylvie nodded. "Yeah! You can be my teacher."

"Then I'll do it!" Molly made her hands into fists in front of her and blinked hard. "I'll tell you everything about space and when I'm done you'll have a whole new thing to be smart in!"

"I might learn a lot about it, but I don't think I'll ever be as learned on the subject as you." Shrugged Sylvie again. Before he had time to put his arms down, however, Molly flung her arms around him in a hug, giggling happily.

"Thanks, Sylvie," Molly said, squeezing Sylvie tightly. "You're a fun friend to have. You and Giovanni are like big brothers almost."

When they had first started being friends, Sylvie was surprised by Molly's amount of hugs and other physical affections. But now he didn't mind it at all and even welcomed it sometimes. He returned her hug with his hands crossed over her small back. "You're fun too." He said, and after a second he pulled his face back to look at her. "You know… I wouldn't mind having a little sister."

"Who you'll take to the library all the time?"

"Who I can take to the library all the time," Sylvie nodded, having a hard time holding back his laughter at Molly's question. "You… Know anyone who would be up for the position?"

"Me!"

"Well then you've got the job!"

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are very much appreciated!


End file.
